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  • Alumni Spotlight: Christina Felten, A Life of Service Driven by a Passion for Labor and Delivery

    Alumni Spotlight: Christina Felten, A Life of Service Driven by a Passion for Labor and Delivery

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Alumni Christina Felten, DNP, CNM, RNC-OB, has spent her career serving others. At the time of her high school graduation, she was a nurse’s aide who quickly became an EMT. However, her life changed when she was floated to labor and delivery and fell in love with supporting women during birth.

    “I had already been accepted into a different program at Bloomsburg University, but after spending some time in the labor unit, I knew I had found my calling. I got in touch with the nursing department and convinced them to let me switch programs,” Felten said.

    However, before Felten finished earning her degree, the twin towers were struck in NYC, and Felten was called to another form of service. She quickly signed up to join the navy and was caring for wounded soldiers within a few short months as a Naval Nurse Corps Officer. 

    While Felten thrived tending to the soldiers, she admits that her heart knew labor was where she was meant to serve.

    “Although it was extremely difficult for me to leave the soldiers,  I had never lost my passion for labor and delivery. I put in for multiple transfers and was eventually sent to the post-partum floor. However, as soon as my patients were tucked in for the night, I shadowed the labor and delivery nurses because I knew that was what I really wanted to,” Felten said.

    Despite it being incredibly challenging to work through school while in the Navy, Felten set her mind to it when she found out about FNU- although she admits she didn’t entirely know what she was signing up for.

    “When I saw FNU’s nurse-midwifery program I thought it sounded exactly like what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure what a nurse-midwife was, but the description fit like a glove, so I went for it,” Felten laughed. 

    Later in her career, Felten’s unexpected midwifery path would play to her advantage. Felten was the first midwife to be hired by the Lehigh Valley Physician Group, and she did so by explaining midwifery to those less familiar with the practice. 

    “When I applied for the job, they initially weren’t looking for a midwife, so I explained, I’m essentially a nurse-practitioner who delivers babies. And it worked,” Felten said.

    Felten knew that being the first midwife would come with challenges, and it took time for the hospital to understand her value.

    “For years, I was just doing postpartum rounds and seeing patients in the office, which wasn’t what I signed up for, I wanted to deliver babies,” Felten said.

    Felten even left Lehigh for a time to work elsewhere. However, following her absence, the hospital hired another FNU alumni, Sherilyn Gibbs, DNP, CNM, who really transformed the program. Shortly after Gibbs was hired,  Felten received a phone call asking her to return to Lehigh Valley.” 

    “What we have now is a true collaboration between the doctors and the midwives,” Felten said. “We have become ingrained in the culture of the hospital so that patients and healthcare workers who might not have known much about midwifery, now see us at work and realize we are educated professionals,” Felten said. 

    According to Felten, COVID-19 only enhanced this sense of togetherness. “During COVID, there was no room for ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality,” Felten said. “We have all been one team throughout the pandemic.”

    “That doesn’t mean this year wasn’t hard though,” Felten said. “Some days, it was easy to feel bitter when we were working overtime while so many others were staying at home. Some days felt lonely; as midwives, we love bonding with our patients, and the layers of PPE made everything feel distant. We’ve had to reevaluate so much of what we do.”

    Felten said that on her most challenging days, she would think back to a memorable patient experience from early in her health care journey. When Felten was serving injured soldiers, she treated a man from Pittsburgh  whose leg was damaged by an IED explosion. He always enjoyed her accent and called her Nurse Philly. 

    One night she heard him screaming for ‘Nurse Philly’, and when she went to him, he was watching a video someone had sent him of the blast that left him scarred. He was frightened and just needed someone to hold his hand. 

    Years later, he requested Felten to assist his wife with the birth of their twins. During that much happier time, she was able to again hold his hand.

    “What I’ve realized is that life doesn’t always turn out as you expect, and sometimes you might not feel like you’re in the right place, but life has a way of circling back around. If you follow the path your heart is leading you towards, it’s amazing the way things line up,” Felten says.

  • FNU Graduates Realize Dream of Opening Their Own Nurse-Midwifery Practice

    FNU Graduates Realize Dream of Opening Their Own Nurse-Midwifery Practice

    Not even a pandemic could end this lifelong dream. Going to school while working full time and raising a family didn’t stand in the way either. Some things are just meant to be.

    That’s how Naomi Elizabeth Drucker, MSN, CNM, Bridge 138, and Lilit Baldjyan Sarkissian, RN, MSN, CNM, Class 143, felt when they held a grand opening for Los Angeles Midwives on December 16, 2020. The grand opening was virtual, but the building, the practice, the midwives, and their guests were all quite real. It was the fulfillment of a dream that Drucker and Sarkissian shared when they worked together as labor and delivery nurses at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. 

    “Even when I was a registered nurse, I knew I wanted to be a midwife,” Sarkissian said. “I saw that in Naomi and I saw that in me too. We never officially talked about where we would be today but we jokingly referred to starting our own practice. The reality of it happening sounded too good to be true.”

    While they had secured office space in September, the December grand opening event made it all feel real. The event lasted approximately 90 minutes with a large percentage of the 75-plus RSVP’d guests dropping into the virtual event for at least a part of the celebration. Among those in attendance were doulas, nurses, and nurse-midwives. Among the many notable attendees were the President of the California Nurse-Midwives Association and FNU graduate Paris Maloof-Bury, CNM, Class 140; FNU graduate Shadman Habibi, CNM, Class 19, lead CNM with the UCLA Nurse-Midwives; and Kathleen Belzer, the President of the California Nurse-Midwives Foundation. Activities included a virtual tour of the facility, an introduction to the nurse-midwives, and some interactive games and conversations.

    “The grand opening raised awareness among other midwives and birth workers so they have a clearer understanding of what we are doing and what we have to offer,” Drucker said. 

    One of the unique things that Los Angeles Midwives has to offer is in-patient delivering privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, allowing them to provide midwifery care and services to their patients while having their babies in the hospital setting. Drucker and Sarkissian are the first CNM team to have such privileges at the hospital. 

    “Almost all of our clients come to us instead of another midwife because they know we have access to Cedars,” Drucker said. “For anybody planning an out of hospital birth, it’s very important to have a solid backup plan. We’re the only ones who can offer a seamless transition to the hospital without losing your birth team. That’s very important to all of our clients.”

    Equally important to current and prospective clients is the strong reputation that Drucker and Sarkissian carry within the profession. 

    “Most of our inquiries are coming from a recommendation from doulas,” Sarkissian said. “Word of mouth in this business is so powerful because there’s a trust component. I trust my doula and my doula trusts you, so I’m going to trust you.”

    Those connections with doulas and others in the birthing community have been developed over long periods of time. Drucker began her career as a doula 20 years ago and has continued to value and maintain those relationships over the years. 

    The Los Angeles Midwives recognize the importance of building trust and have established virtual Sunday meet and greets to better get to know their prospective clients. Working in the hospital setting, they saw first-hand the importance of having trust and a healthcare advocate during the birthing process. While working as labor and delivery nurses, Drucker and Sarkissian both took note of things they would do differently if and when they had their own practice. Drucker frequently jokes that she was an undercover midwife working as a labor and delivery nurse. 

    “There was one midwife at Cedars who had a private practice before we did,” Drucker said. “I would often ask her questions because I knew that down the road that’s what I wanted to do. My biggest concern was leaving a big institution where I get a great paycheck and have benefits. She said that will be the least of your worries. Your biggest worry is going to be finding a partner so you don’t kill yourself with the hours. I gained a lot of confidence from her. There is enough interest for sure, definitely for the special service we are offering that includes access to the hospital.”

    Drucker worked independently for the first two years after leaving her nursing job, while Sarkissian took a full-time nursing instructor role at West Coast University (WCU) shortly after passing her national board certification.  

    “As a labor and delivery nurse, you really get to support these women in labor and help them make decisions and advocate for them,” Sarkissian said. “What drives you to become a midwife is when you see all of this in a medical setting and you can’t help but think to yourself ‘I wouldn’t have done it that way’ or ‘I wish she wasn’t coerced into that decision.’ You want to be in that seat where you’re making those decisions and managing her care. I want to be able to empower these women to be part of their own healthcare decisions. That’s one of the hallmarks of midwifery that we don’t see playing out the majority of the time in a medical setting.”

    While Sarkissian was teaching at WCU, and concurrently serving as a clinical instructor at UCLA’s School of Nursing, she remained focused on her mission to join Drucker as a private practice midwife. Drucker guided her through the process of attaining delivering privileges. 

    “I left my job to get privileges while I taught full time. Naomi guided me throughout the whole thing,” said Sarkissian, who continues to be clinical faculty at UCLA’s School of Nursing. “It’s scary to call doctors and say ‘will you be my backup provider?’ She already had all those conversations. The groundwork was there. Plus, working at Cedars as registered nurses, where we had a working relationship and trust definitely helped.”

    The Los Angeles Midwives have hit the ground running, beginning the new year with approximately 20 pregnant patients and 10 postpartum patients. They estimate that about 80 percent of their patients prefer a home birth, but the hospital privileges are a comforting assurance.

    “If we need to go to the hospital, I still get to continue to take care of my patient,” Sarkissian said. “With the rest of the great midwives who don’t have these privileges, if there’s a reason to go to the hospital, that care ends because they can’t go with them.”

    Drucker estimates that only about 15 percent of the time do they need assistance from their backup provider, who would perform procedures such as C-sections at the hospital. But even in those cases where physician backup is required, Drucker and Sarkissian are still able to be there, actively involved in the care and advocacy of their patients.

    That personal connection and care are just as important to the Los Angeles Midwives as they are to their patients. They understand that it is what makes them a success, and it is why they have no immediate plans to expand their business. 

    “It’s such a personal business and people really do come for us — not just a midwife — they are coming for us in particular,” Drucker said. “I imagine it would change the flavor of our service if we had a team of midwives.” 

    Both Drucker and Sarkissian are content with the size, scope, and model of their practice. They are quick to thank their families, friends, and colleagues for helping them reach this point. It takes an immeasurable amount of support to be able to work full time, go to school full time, and raise a family all at once. They also credit Frontier Nursing University with playing a key role in making Los Angeles Midwives a reality.  

    “Frontier has a stellar reputation,” Drucker said. “As far as securing clinical sites and promoting ourselves, people love to know that we went to Frontier. As a working mother of four sons, I worked the night shift through my whole master’s degree and it was doable. I couldn’t have done that with any other program. I’m really grateful. I’m also grateful for the on-campus experience that we had. It was manageable and it allowed us to connect and meet these great midwives who are so passionate about some facets of midwifery that I had never even considered to be important. I think Frontier gave me a great foundation. I’m very proud to let people know that I went to Frontier.” 

    “I had a baby who was one when I started school and had two other babies while I was in school, also working the night shift,” Sarkissian said. “That ability to be able to go to school and realize my dreams would have not been possible with any other school. That being said, it wasn’t just any online program. I always felt that connection, even though I was thousands of miles away. Frontier has it figured out. They know what it takes to educate students using an online medium but still have that connection. I felt supported and the knowledge that I received and the education that I got were top notch. That was even more clear to me when the pandemic hit and I was an instructor at a university and I had to teach online. I got to use a lot of the things I learned as a student as an instructor.”

    “I am extremely proud and honored to have attended Frontier,” Sarkissian continued. “I think as a midwifery school, it is one of the top schools and I can see why they have that reputation. They have it figured out and it’s the right way to do it.”

    The same could be said about the Los Angeles Midwives. 

  • New Introduction to Cultural Safety Course Available to All

    Beginning this spring, FNU will be offering a new course, “Introduction to Cultural Safety.” The course will be made available not only to the FNU community but to anyone interested in the course and its areas of focus.

    The curriculum was developed by FNU clinical faculty Dr. Erin Tenney, CNM, DNP, Class 14. The three-hour CE course has been reviewed by five fellow FNU faculty members. Those taking the course will learn about Native American history and culture in order to better comprehend cultural safety. This requires not only understanding the Native American culture, but also self-reflection and awareness on the part of the healthcare provider. 

    “The focus of the Introduction to Cultural Safety is on Native Americans, but the tenets can be applied to all populations,” Dr. Tenney said. “We will introduce the concept of cultural safety and center on the Indigenous patient experience, learning to listen as the patient defines what safe care is.”

    By the end of the Introduction to Cultural Safety, learners will be able to:

    1. Define cultural safety
    2. Identify the three key tenets of cultural safety
    3. Explain the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people in the U.S. 
    4. Describe what culturally safe vs. culturally unsafe care may look like 
    5. Discuss personal and systems change strategies for improving the cultural safety of care

    The course is led by Dr. Tenney with guest instructor  Dorene Waubanewquay Day. In addition to being clinical faculty at FNU, Dr. Tenney is a certified nurse-midwife and women’s health nurse practitioner, DONA International birth doula trainer, writer, and photographer who has worked within Indigenous health centers and communities throughout her nursing career of almost 20 years. 

    Dorene Waubanewquay Day is an accomplished educator, midwife, activist, singer, and artist who consults with and works within many Indigenous and other communities and organizations to help restore and design culturally safe practices.  In 2020, she was selected as a Luce Indigenous Fellow.

    Dr. Tenney credits Dorene with being her teacher and mentor, “particularly about women’s health and traditional lifeways, birth and parenting, life, death, grief, healing and more.” Together, they have traveled to Native communities in the U.S. and Canada to provide birth and women’s health training. They have also provided culturally-based doula and midwifery teachings, in addition to cultural safety training for health providers in the U.S.

    Those interested in the Introduction to Cultural Safety can enroll in the course at https://ceu.catalog.instructure.com/courses/introduction2cultural-safety.

    Editor’s Note: This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,065,200. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. 

  • Frontier Faculty Dr. Geraldine Q. Young Recognized for Her Contributions to Higher Education

    Frontier Faculty Dr. Geraldine Q. Young Recognized for Her Contributions to Higher Education

    In honor of Women’s History Month, Diverse magazine recently published its annual special report recognizing women who have made exceptional contributions to higher education in recent years. Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is proud to announce that Dr. Geraldine Young, chief diversity and inclusion officer was one of the 25 outstanding women recognized in this year’s announcement!

    Dr. Young, whose service in the nursing profession spans over 20 years, joined FNU in the fall of 2019. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2010), a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Alcorn State University (2005), and a BSN from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (2001). She is also a board-certified family nurse practitioner (FNP) (2005) and certified diabetes care and education specialist (2011).

    “I am incredibly honored and humbled to be recognized on this special list of women,” Dr. Young said. “I am thankful to have led the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at FNU over the past year. As we strengthen our own environment, we have the opportunity to set an example and standard for other institutions to follow. I thank Diverse magazine for this honor and for giving us this platform to inspire others.”

    2021 marks the 10th anniversary of Diverse highlighting women who have made a difference by tackling some of higher education’s toughest challenges, exhibiting extraordinary leadership skills, and making a positive difference in their respective communities. It is a true honor to have FNU faculty represented in this enlightening special report.

    Click here to view the full article highlighting the efforts of Dr. Young and all of the other wonderful women who have been working hard to improve our education systems!

  • Delivering the Vaccine to the Last Frontier

    Delivering the Vaccine to the Last Frontier

    Julie Drude, FNP Class 136, CNEP Class 81, DNP Class 26, doesn’t “do boats. I don’t like them. I hate boats.” Even though she was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida, and resides in Chattahoochee, Florida, she said “my extent of the beach and the waves is laying on the beach and sunbathing. I don’t do boats.”

    Why, then, was she pictured in front of a boat in Alaska as part of a widely circulated news story in January? The answer as to why she’s in Alaska is that Drude is a travel nurse, currently working as a locum tenens in Homer, Alaska. The answer to why there’s a boat in the picture is because Drude, fellow FNU graduate Kourtney Holder, DNP, Companion, DNP 2, and two other medical personnel were delivering the COVID-19 vaccines to Seldovia, a small town located on Alaska’s Kachemak Bay, about 25 miles from Homer. There are no roads to Seldovia — the only ways to get there are across the bay via bush plane or, unfortunately for Drude, by boat.

    Drude began working as a travel nurse in 2012, with her first assignment being the rural town of Bethel, Alaska. She worked there again in 2015 and 2017, and in Valdez, Alaska in the summer of 2020. This is her first trip to Homer, however, with her assignment scheduled from December through March. So, despite her familiarity with rural Alaska, she was not prepared for her assignment on her fourth day in Homer.

    “It was my fourth day here and they were like, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to Seldovia today to vaccinate’,” she said. “That’s where the picture came from. That was the first day that we got the Pfizer vaccine. Now, this Florida girl who doesn’t do much flying or boating has to get on a boat or a bush plane every Monday and Tuesday and fly over to the village of Seldovia.”

    That day, like many in Alaska, the weather was too rough for the bush planes to make the trip over the bay. The only way was by boat. Make no mistake, this is no pleasure cruise across a tranquil bay. It’s a rough trip.

    “Because it was the Pfizer vaccine and there is that window that you have to use the vaccine, we had to take a boat,” Drude said. “It was my first boat ride in Alaska. We braved six-foot waves and rough water and delivered COVID vaccines. I had total faith in the captain of the boat, but it was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life. It was even rougher on the way back.”

    As scary and unpleasant as the trip was, Drude said it was well worth it.

    “It was such an amazing moment to be one of the first people here in this community to deliver some vaccines to Alaskans,” she said. “Mondays and Tuesdays are a little stressful waiting to know how we are going to get across the bay. But it’s been great. There are a lot of Alaska natives here and it’s rural, so it’s a great community to serve.”

    The site in Homer is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). In addition to Seldovia, and the main clinic in Homer, there is another satellite clinic in Anchor Point, about 20 miles from Homer. The clinic has been providing vaccines at the Homer and Seldovia sites, with the first round going to first responders and Alaska natives over the age of 65.

    “The majority of people are very eager to get the vaccine,” Drude said. “I think they see this as a ray of hope because, in places like Alaska, being outdoors and being with family and people, that’s such a huge part of life here. So many of these folks have been in isolation since March and April. Alaska was one of the very last states to be affected, but when the winter months came, COVID started hitting harder here.”

    Drude was hit hard by COVID herself. From 2017 to 2020, she worked full time in school-based health in Florida. But when the pandemic began, found working from home to be an unproductive and poor use of her time.

    “I saw an ad for staffing in New York for the COVID crisis in April,” she said. “I did a three-week assignment in New York for COVID.”

    By the end of her time in New York, she was experiencing shortness of breath. Thinking it was probably anxiety or the result of wearing an N95 mask for 12-hour shifts almost 21 days straight, she nonetheless wore a double-mask on the flight home.

     “I went to the ER and my COVID test was negative but I had pneumonia with ground-glass opacities, which is a common finding in COVID pneumonia,” she said. “Over the course of three weeks, I had very random symptoms. Fever, body aches, chills with no fever, body aches with no fever, very odd muscle cramps from my hips all the way to my toes, shortness of breath continued, severe dizziness, headaches. It took me about three weeks to almost fully recover. I am 9 months out and I still suffer from tachycardia, dizzy spells, and brain fog. My case was not as severe as most. I was not hospitalized. I never even got a positive COVID test, but I did have antibodies six weeks after I was ill. Both my pulmonologist and my cardiologist said it was highly likely that it was COVID. I still have what they are calling long-haul symptoms.”

     Along those lines, Drude said she intends to be a travel nurse for the long haul.

    “My goal is to continue doing locum tenens as a nurse practitioner,” she said. Drude and her husband John have five children, ages 21, 19, 17, 8, and 6. “I like the idea of working in a big clump, then having some time off and being home with them. The beauty is most jobs I take, my husband and two younger children can travel with me.”

    Despite treacherous boat rides, COVID, and the other hazards of being a travel nurse, Drude is drawn to the opportunity to provide care in areas where little is available.

    “Even though I have a little anxiety about lots of things, I have found that this trip has gotten me way out of my comfort zone,” Drude said. “These residents have to depend on a boat or a plane to get out if they are sick or injured. It’s just nice to be part of something where I can be over there twice a week to provide the care that they need without them having to spend the extra money to go to Homer to get care.”

    Fellow FNU graduate Kourtney Holder accompanies Drude on many of these trips. Holder was contacted for this story, but unavailable for an interview. “I enjoyed my time at FNU and appreciate the great education I received there,” Holder said via text.

    Drude echoed that comment, crediting FNU for readying her for the risks and rigors of travel nursing.

    “I felt very well prepared as a Frontier graduate to do any job,” Drude said. “I love the emphasis on rural health and getting outside of your comfort zone and going where no one has gone before to serve. Frontier ingrains that in you. Get out in the world and serve.”

    Even if you have to do it by boat.

  • FNU Chi Pi Honor Society Students Receive Scholarships

    FNU Chi Pi Honor Society Students Receive Scholarships

    Each fall, Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) Chi Pi Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) awards several students with a $750 scholarship. To qualify for STTI membership, students must have completed at least a quarter of their degree program, hold a 3.5 or higher grade point average and demonstrate academic excellence.

    Congratulations to Frontier’s Fall 2020 Chi Pi scholarship recipients! The FNU community is proud of your dedication to hard work despite the obstacles of COVID-19.

     Here is what FNU students had to say about receiving this scholarship:

    “I am honored and grateful to be a recipient.,” said Amanda Isbell. “This scholarship will help me tremendously as I have recently become a single mother of three and have been faced with worries that I may not be able to continue this journey and take care of my family. My financial situation is very tight and includes an extensive commute with room and board costs while completing my clinical courses. Due to these extra costs, I have been afraid that I would be forced to drop out of my program when I have come so close to the finish line. I will be putting this scholarship money towards my travel expenses so that I can finish out my clinical and continue to be successful in my program. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, this scholarship is life-changing for me and will give me the opportunity to proceed with my hopes and dreams!” 

    “I am so excited to receive this award! I plan to use the scholarship funds for books and a new computer as my current computer is at the end of its life,” said Sarah Vialpando.

    “This scholarship could not come at a better time- I am filled with gratitude and relief from the support it offers,” said Georgia Noonan. “I started my clinical journey over a year ago, filled with hope and excitement after FNU’s clinical bound. I was so eager to get started. Then, in March, COVID restrictions and safety protocols locked me out of my clinical sites with no return date. It has been an emotional and challenging journey, but one program track switch and 38 preceptor/site contacts later, I finally found a preceptor willing to work with me during a global pandemic. I’m about 100 hours away from my dreams, and this scholarship has given even more wind to my sails. I’m coming up on a full year without an income, so this kind of financial support is a huge help to me and my blossoming family. Thank you again for this opportunity. I feel supported and upheld by my Sigma Community.” 

    “After I finish my NP, my partner and I are going on the road in our tiny home on wheels; we will be staying in rural communities in Mont.,” said Stephanie Canning. “I am praying that while I’m there, I can help with access to care for families from babies to elders. I plan on completing my DNP, so I can become more knowledgeable in program implementation and help address the needs of the local systems. This scholarship will be a big help in assisting with travel plans and paying off student loans.”

    “I was lucky enough to be a member of the University of Iowa’s Sigma Theta Tau Gamma chapter while in nursing school, so it feels very special to also be a part of FNU’s Chi Pi chapter,” said Audrey Katz. “I am so thankful for this generous scholarship and the opportunity to be a member during my time at FNU. This spring, my husband is finishing medical school at Medical College of Wisconsin, so extra funds are low with both of us in school. This scholarship decreased the financial strain for the clinical portion of my degree during this transitional time. Besides tuition assistance, I utilized a portion of this scholarship to enhance my hands-on skills during clinical rotations. I purchased and completed the Resolving Shoulder Dystocia course through Spinning Babies, and I am also interested in the Suturing for Midwives Online Workshop. I am very grateful for the opportunity to make our Chi Pi chapter proud!”

    To find out more about Chi Pi and apply for the 2020 scholarship, please visit our Honor Society Page.

  • Pandemic Emphasizes Need for Mental Health Practitioners and Preceptors: Q&A with Dr. Jess Calohan

    Pandemic Emphasizes Need for Mental Health Practitioners and Preceptors: Q&A with Dr. Jess Calohan

    Editor’s Note: Dr. Jess Calohan, DNP, is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of FNU’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. A recent retiree from the United States Army after 20 years of distinguished service, he is a recognized expert in treating combat-related PTSD, presenting nationally and internationally with multiple peer-reviewed publications. He was awarded the prestigious “A” designator by the United States Army Surgeon General in 2013, an honor that is given to less than 5% of Army medical officers in recognition of his expertise and significant contributions to military medicine. He also earned multiple military awards, most notably the Bronze Star and Defense Meritorious Service Medal. 

    How has the pandemic impacted mental health in America?

    The pandemic has actually created a mental health crisis in America. One national behavioral health crisis service has seen an 800% increase in calls and internet inquiries over the past four months. This has truly been a national disaster in which there is really no relief at this point. In my professional practice, I’ve hospitalized more patients in the past nine months than I have in the last four years. People are stressed and those with mental health conditions are vulnerable to symptom exacerbation due to the increased stress. Then we have the family and friends of the more than 300,000 individuals that have died due to COVID struggling with grief as many of them didn’t get to say goodbye to their loved ones. This is an unprecedented time for the mental health of our country and the impact may well last a generation.

    How have mental health professionals and their patients adapted to conducting visits during the pandemic?

    Mental health care was initially seen as routine care during the beginning of the pandemic with the exception of emergency services. Many patients had appointments canceled due to quarantining and social distancing requirements. Many insurance payers along with Medicaid and Medicare did not reimburse for telephone and other types of virtual visits so care was delayed until late March when Congress passed legislation allowing reimbursement for telephone visits with patients. Other payers began to follow suit and care resumed for many patients. Psychiatry, in general, has been a pioneer in telehealth, however, it was not widely used in many practices. Providers had to quickly learn the nuances of providing telehealth services and incorporate those into clinical practice. At FNU we provide telehealth training and allow our students to use telehealth modalities in their clinical practicums.

    Do you think anything that has changed in mental health care during the pandemic will persist after the pandemic is over?

    Yes, telehealth utilization prior to the pandemic with our student population was about 10%. That number increased to 70% during the pandemic. I believe telehealth utilization for behavioral health services will likely fall somewhere in between. The bottom line is that it will become part of a behavioral health provider’s daily practice. 

    What challenges have FNU students faced during the pandemic? Have they had difficulty finding preceptors? 

    Our students have faced multiple challenges related to the pandemic. The two most common things we have seen are increased workload for students in their jobs and adjusting work/life/school balance. From a clinical perspective, we’ve been able to adjust and have increased the number of telehealth hours so that they can stay engaged in clinical. Our department has not had a significant impact on clinical placements. 

    What do prospective PMHNP preceptors need to know about precepting FNU students? What is required of them and how do they make themselves available to precept? 

    Even though our program is relatively new, we are becoming one of the top education PMHNP programs in the country. We are much different than other distance programs in that we require students to have face to face time with faculty. When the pandemic is contained, our students will resume two on-campus requirements that prepare them for the didactic and clinical portions of the program. We currently have successfully adapted these requirements to the virtual environment, but are looking forward to returning to our new campus. We are not a “death by discussion board” program. Part of what makes FNU unique is our ability to develop a sense of community in the virtual environment and our faculty engage students through a variety of technological platforms. Our faculty have diverse backgrounds and clinical experience. All of our faculty still practice including me. We are one of the few programs in the country that have a telehealth simulation clinic so that students can have faculty-supervised simulated patient experiences before moving on to their clinical practicums. 

    We have dedicated clinical faculty that support preceptors and students during the clinical rotation. The clinical faculty support reduces the administrative burden on preceptors and we offer honorariums for preceptors that precept our students. 

    Please describe the current and future level of need for mental health practitioners in the U.S. 

    We have a nationwide shortage of behavioral health providers and 3% of behavioral health providers are providers of color. FNU has a long history of graduating providers to serve in their communities. We also have made a tangible commitment to increasing the diversity of our student population and graduates. 

  • Frontier Nursing University Faculty’s Published Works of 2020

    Frontier Nursing University Faculty’s Published Works of 2020

    Frontier Nursing University (FNU), is built up of passionate and forward thinking faculty members who work hard to educate others and improve the quality of health care across the country. 

    Below we are featuring the published work our faculty produced throughout the past year. Thank you to all of you who are helping to make a difference in the lives of others through your writing!

    FNU Faculty Author Textbook Chapter 

    FNU Associate Professors Dr. Diane John, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC, CNE, and Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP co-authored Chapter 8 in Health Promotion, a textbook written for nurse practitioners and advanced practitioners. Published in December by F.A. Davis, the book is described as “Step-by-step, a who’s who of educators, researchers, and practitioners explore the models and skills you need to help your patients, including those with multiple comorbidities while evaluating medical evidence that changes rapidly, or that may be unclear.”

    (book cover, Diane John and Vicky Stone-Gale)

    FNU Faculty Contribute to “Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women’s Health”

    FNU faculty members recently contributed to the 6th Edition of “Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women’s Health”, published by Jones & Bartlett. Assistant Professors Nena Harris, CNM, FNP-BC, CNE, Ph.D., and Linda McDaniel, CNM, RNFA, DNP, are assistant editors for the book, and Associate Professor Dr. Laura Manns-James, Ph.D., CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, is an associate editor. FNU Instructor Angela Mitchell, FNP-BC, DNP, was a reviewer for the cardiovascular chapter, and FNU student Katharine Heaney, RN, BSN, CLC, SNM, was a contributor to the Group B streptococcus colonization chapter. The book is described as “an accessible and easy-to-use quick reference guide for midwives and women’s healthcare providers. Thoroughly updated and revised to reflect the changing clinical environment, it offers current evidence-based practice, updated approaches, and opportunities for midwifery leadership in every practice setting.”

    (book cover, Nena Harris, Linda McDaniel, Laura Manns-James, Angela Mitchell, Katharine Heaney)

    Faculty Published Articles and Chapters:

    Following is a list of articles and chapters recently published by FNU faculty members: 

    Assistant Professor Kendra Faucett, CNM, DNP:

    Faucett, K, & Kennedy, H.P. (2020) Accuracy in reporting Kentucky certified nurse midwives as attendants in birth registration data. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13111 (Publication date, issue pending) (May 11, 2020)

    Assistant Professor Rebecca Fay, DNP, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE, FACNM:Yount, S.M., Fay, R.A., Kissler, K.J. (2020). Prenatal and postpartum experience, knowledge and engagement with kegels: A longitudinal, prospective, multisite study. Journal of Women’s Health, 00(00), DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2019.8185. [Epub ahead of print]. 

    Associate Professor Debra Hunt, Ph.D., FNP-BC, GNP-BC, CNE:

    Hunt, D. A., Keefe, J., Whitehead, T., & Littlefield, A. (2020). Understanding Cannabis. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. https://doiorg.frontier.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.07.007 

    Associate Professor Dr. Diane John, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC, CNE:

    Stone-Gale, V. & John, D. (2021). Health Screening and Counseling: Adult and Older Adult In M. Frenn & D. Whitehead (Eds.), Health Promotion: Translating Evidence to Practice pp. 134-160. FA Davis. 

    Assistant Professor JoAnne Keefe DNP, MPH, FNP-C, CNE:

    Hunt, D. A., Keefe, J., Whitehead, T., & Littlefield, A. (2020). Understanding Cannabis. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. https://doiorg.frontier.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2020.07.007

    Associate Professor Laura Manns-James, Ph.D., CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE:

    Manns-James, L. Anthony, M.K. & Neal-Barnett, A. (2020) Racial discrimination, racial identity, and obesity in collegiate African American Women. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. (Online publication date 10/7/2020; not yet in print). doi: 10.1007/s40615-020-00880-x 

    Course Coordinator Charlotte Swint, DNP, MPH:

    Fay, R., Swint, C., Thrower, E. J. B. (2020, June 26). Development of an intraprofessional scholarship workgroup: Systematic process for creating and disseminating nursing knowledge. Nurse Educator, Publish Ahead of Print _doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000880

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